Empire of Sports signs Justine Henin

In-development sports MMO Empire of Sports has signed Belgian tennis superstar Justine Henin to appear in the game.

Henin shocked the tennis world by announcing her immediate retirement from the sport last month, at the age of 25. Henin was world number one at the time - a position she'd held since 2006 - and reigning French and US Open champion.

Likenesses of Henin and coach Carlos Rodriguez will appear in Empire of Sports as non-player characters, dispensing missions and techniques to players.

According to the press release, UNESCO ambassador Henin "believes that the 'amazing role-playing features of Empire of Sports' will help lead children to act more responsibly and also to take part in real life tennis".

Empire of Sports features tennis alongside football, skiing, basketball, bobsleigh, athletics and training, and an RPG character development system that mimics the physiology of the human body.

We had a go on the "private launch" (i.e. closed beta) version of the game and had mixed feelings about it, but Henin can rest easy about her endorsement - the tennis, at least, plays superbly.

We still have some private launch keys available to give away, if you're interested in trying it out - head over to the giveaway page if so.